John Cena vs. AJ Styles and the Best WWE Matches for Week of August 25

Nobody in WWE delivers in big matches like John Cena and AJ Styles; their SummerSlam instant classic was further evidence of that.

NXT Superstars tore the roof off the Barclays Center at TakeOver: Brooklyn II, SummerSlam's marquee title matches thrilled and SmackDown showcased Dolph Ziggler's desperate attempt to earn another shot at the WWE World Championship. But it was Cena and Styles who most ensnared the audience. The rematch of their Money in the Bank stunner was absolute magic.

Cena passed the baton to The Phenomenal One in a dramatic clash.

He padded his Hall of Fame resume, and Styles continued his MVP-caliber year.

WWE fans had plenty of other showdowns to salivate over, too. 

A tag team tour de force, a pair of women's title bouts and SmackDown's main event all wowed. SummerSlam week had almost too many good in-ring showings, leaving fans drained by the end of it. 

A match's storytelling, drama, memorable moments and chemistry decided where it landed on this week's list.

Honorable Mentions

• Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe (TakeOver: Brooklyn)
• Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor (SummerSlam)

Nakamura felled a beast in Brooklyn on Saturday, outlasting Samoa Joe to become NXT champion.

The two hard-hitting warriors clobbered each other in the match's closing moments. They survived each other's best shots until The King of Strong Style finally came out on top. 

Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net called it "a great main event to a fantastic show." 

It took a while to get into high gear, though. Early on, the bout didn't have the spark one would expect from these two stars. The last third of the contest saw Nakamura and Joe turn on the intensity that should have saturated the entire battle.

Rollins vs. Balor was also not the classic it could have been.

The two top-flight athletes excited with their speed and agility. And Balor's win was the kind of bold booking that invigorates a fanbase. 

The Demon King and Rollins, however, didn't click as well as fans may have dreamed—not as perfectly as John Cena and AJ Styles did that same night.

5. AJ Styles vs. Dolph Ziggler (SmackDown)

Only AJ Styles stood between Dolph Ziggler and a second opportunity at the WWE World Championship. If The Showoff could defeat Styles on Tuesday's SmackDown, he would face both The Phenomenal One and Dean Ambrose in a Triple Threat match at the Backlash pay-per-view.

Those high stakes set the stage for what ended up being the best TV match during SummerSlam week.

Ziggler furiously fought to keep Styles down. The Phenomenal One, however, matched him at every step. The two Superstars worked tremendously together.

It didn't have the high spots or lasting images that some of SummerSlam's and NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn's top contests did, relying more on intensity and some breathtaking near-falls.

Indy wrestler Gran Akuma tweeted, "Styles-Ziggler was great. You might be burned out on WWE after SummerSlam weekend. When you recover, seek this out."

He's right. Ziggler vs. Styles may get lost in the shuffle with so much else on fans' plates during a busy stretch.

But this was better than Ziggler's SummerSlam clash with Ambrose, and it was another reminder that, when given high-profile opportunities, Ziggler flourishes.

4. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte (SummerSlam)

Tasked with thrilling at SummerSlam after already telling the dynamite story of Sasha Banks making it to the mountaintop, The Boss and Charlotte pressed the gas pedal to the floor.

Much like the men in the first TLC matches, these women put their bodies at risk in order to make sure that they were the center of conversation the next day.

Charlotte flung Banks around. The Boss leaped at her foe. Champion and challenger made their clash as violent and breathtaking as possible, continually hitting the wrestling equivalent of home run swings.

The high-risk style slid into dangerous territory at times, but it also helped tell the story.

Charlotte focused on her opponent's back, weakening her base. That figured into the climax, as Banks was in too much pain to fully clamp on the Bank Statement, and Charlotte took advantage to steal back her title.  

This was not the fiery showing they had on Raw last month, when The Boss dethroned Charlotte, but it was an outstanding performance nonetheless.  

The shock ending didn't stir one's gut the way that Asuka vs. Bayley or John Cena vs. AJ Styles did. This felt like a transitional chapter—a slightly short battle designed to set up something epic down the road.

3. Asuka vs. Bayley (TakeOver: Brooklyn)

Asuka's defeat of Bayley served as a memorable farewell for the happy-go-lucky babyface.

The NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II Women's Championship match was built around Bayley's quest for redemption. She wanted to win back the title she won in Brooklyn one year ago. That symmetry added a special element to the contest.

Redemption never came.

Asuka battered Bayley for much of the night, kneeing her in the head and pushing her around. The champ was a dangerous beast, and Bayley was the brave hero trying to overcome her.

The wrestlers outdid their first meeting in Dallas. There was more of a story to connect with, and Bayley's disappointment was moving. Bayley soaking in her failure in front of the Brooklyn crowd resonated emotionally.

The Revival vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa outdid Asuka and Bayley on that night, however. A textbook tag team match ended with its own gutting loss for the good guys—a bout built on solid in-ring action.

2. The Revival vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa (TakeOver: Brooklyn)

On a night that boasted top-notch stars such as Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode and Bayley, it was a tag team clinic that stole the show.

The Revival vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa hit all the right notes. Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were their usual nasty, ferocious selves. Gargano and Ciampa thrived as the babyfaces with their fingertips on the gold.

As Voices of Wrestling writer Alex Wendland wrote, "The near-falls, the pace, The Revival riding the lines of the rules...all of it was just as it should be."

The stellar chemistry between the two squads should inspire WWE to book a rematch or two. These duos are perfect for each other—the pit bulls vs. the underdogs. 

They made fans care about Gargano and Ciampa's battle to become champions. They made the audience swoon with a frenzied ending and classic tag team psychology.

Normally, this would easily be the best match of any given week, but AJ Styles and John Cena issued an absolute work of art.

1. John Cena vs. AJ Styles (SummerSlam)

John Cena and AJ Styles somehow outdid their superb showing at Money in the Bank. 

The clear high point of SummerSlam was these two pushing each other to their limits. Styles and Cena pulled out their best moves, new moves and every weapon they could think of, but neither titan would stay down. It got to the point where Cena was baffled by The Phenomenal One's resilience.

At Money in the Bank, it felt as if they were slightly off-rhythm, but Cena and Styles were perfectly in-sync in their battle to prove who was SmackDown's best.

Former WWE Creative member Kevin Eck wrote of the bout on SportsBlog, "This was two great performers creating a masterpiece."

And the result made the match that much more memorable. Styles scored a definitive win, as WWE continues push the rising star. Seeing WWE's Superman fall like that, with no tricks and no underhanded assistance, is a powerful visual.

Cena has been hitting it out of the park like this for years. Styles has strung together an awesome collection of matches in just his first year with the company.

This latest will help launch him into WWE's top tier, where he will thrive against any marquee talents WWE sends his way.